The Grovers continued their search, trying to be more cautious the second time around.

They found three French bulldogs via online advertisements and said the seller poured on the charm.

“He said, ‘Now you are part of my family. These were my mother’s puppies.’ He even sent us a picture of the kennel he was buying for us and said, ‘I will make dinner.’ I mean he knew me as a soft spot. He said all the right things to me.”

The Denver couple drove to Arkansas. But halfway there they received a phone call.

“He said, ‘Oh, by the way, could you also pick up a gift card at Walmart?’ ”

There was no answer at the door, so Mary Lynn Grover called the two numbers they had for the seller, who said his name was Bill Todd.

“A woman answered and asked, ‘How did you get this number?’ I described what happened. She said, ‘he did the exact same thing to me, for $750,’ ” she said.

The Grovers said they are working with the Arkansas Attorney General, Better Business Bureau and Little Rock Police Department.

BBB response

“A lot of scams are tricky and hard to understand,” said Ezra Coopersmith, the investigations coordinator at the Better Business Bureau. “This one isn’t. It just stinks.”

Coopersmith said there are more scams reported around the holidays because pets are often given as gifts.

He added that scammers will often try to squeeze their victims for more cash by charging for shipping the fake pets.

Second victim

Aurora, Colorado resident Ronald Mills said he was told the $400 he paid for a pug he found on Craigslist for his grandson would cover shipping charges.

He later received an email saying it would cost $1,000 to ship third class, $1,100 to ship second class and $1,200 to ship first class.

“I called (the seller) and said, ‘I guess I’m not getting the dog and you scammed me,’ ” Mills said. “I said, ‘this is a scam.’ He said, ‘Oh sir, this is not a scam. I’m a good Christian.’ He wasn’t a Christian.”

BBB advice

Coopersmith said people purchasing pets should follow these guidelines:

Always meet the pet and pet owner in person

Don’t pay until you’ve met

Pay with a method that has fraud protection

File a report if you’ve been scammed

“That’s the best way for the BBB or law enforcement to know what’s going on and to educate communities about how to avoid this type of scam,” Coopersmith said.

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